For over 30 years, Emeritus Professor Cheh-Shyh Ting of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) has been studying the Er-Fong Weir, which was constructed 100 years ago by Japanese technician Torii Nobuhei. For his impact in the field, Professor Ting was awarded the “Rising Sun Medal” by the Japanese government in the spring of 2023, and on June 28 of the same year, Director General Mr. Masafumi Oku of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in Kaohsiung held a ceremony on behalf of Japanese officials at the Greater Chaozhou Artificial Lake to honor Professor Ting’s work. Professor Ting graduated from the Agricultural Civil Engineering Department of Taiwan Provincial Pingtung Vocational School of Agriculture (the predecessor of NPUST), in 1979. After graduation, Ting studied at the Delft Institute for Water Education and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands, receiving master’s and doctoral degrees in hydraulic engineering and hydrogeology. After completing his studies, Ting returned to his alma mater to teach and continue his research. This year, as NPUST celebrates its centennial anniversary, Professor Ting chose to express his gratitude to his alma mater by donating his Rising Sun Medal to her. A donation ceremony was held on the third floor of the NPUST Library and Exhibition Hall on September 18th with many VIPs in attendance. NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang accepted the donation on behalf of the school.
During the ceremony, President Chang said: “Professor Ting is an outstanding alumnus who studied Agricultural Civil Engineering when our school was operating as the Taiwan Provincial Pingtung Vocational School of Agriculture. He has served our school for more than 30 years and contributed his expertise to those who came later on. Professor Ting has been studying water conservation for more than 40 years, and the Greater Chaozhou Artificial Lake Project he championed in 2018 earned him the “Dayu Award” and a spot on the MOEA Water Resources Agency’s list of heroes. This year is the 100th anniversary of NPUST and I would like to thank Professor Ting for giving this honor to his alma mater and for adding a bright page to the 100-year history of NPUST.”
Professor Ting said “I was educated at Taiwan Provincial Pingtung Vocational School of Agriculture and have worked at NPUST for nearly half a century, and so I am grateful for the cultivation the school has provided and for the opportunity to contribute to Taiwan’s water conservation engineering. Thanks to the weirs built by Japanese water conservation expert Torii Nobuhei, and the construction methods he used, there have been no water shortages in Kao-Ping area in the past two or three years. This has attracted Japanese water conservation experts to Taiwan to learn about technologies used in Japanese water control projects in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period. I am deeply honored to have been inspired by Torii Nobuhei to promote water conservation science and technology and cultural heritage in both of our countries. And I am honored that he gave me the opportunity to receive the Rising Sun Medal from the Emperor of Japan.”
